I would like to begin with Facebook...

In the time I've spent on Facebook I've learned that next to none of the posts I've read have any intellectual value. Facebook is more of a toy, used to let people know what you want them to know. The same can be said of any social site on the 'World Wide Web'. Shortly before writing what you are currently reading, I read a blog that gave information on what people believe the media is doing to the brains of the youngest generations.

As I understand it, the way we process information is actually changing, that is to say, our minds are adapting to how information is put to us. Instead of noticing what MAY be interesting, we actively choose what interests us. If a person wishes to spend hours on twitter, or Facebook, he or she can do just that, and at the same time tune out the rest of life.

It's this 'switched interest' that makes it hard to engage anything that one doesn't think might be entertaining, such as walking through a forest to see nature at work. It is also mentioned in the blog I read that spending so much time online with no actual 1:1 contact actually causes people to become more susceptible to depression. Typing in smileys just doesn't cut it in the way of an outlet, it seems.

I've also noticed that being online for so much of our lives leads us to think with no depth. Everything is exactly what it says it is. If this person on tv says this, it must be true. As an example I use global warming. Global Warming does not mean the whole planet is going to melt, it simply means that the overall climate of Earth is rising slowly. There will still be winter, then spring, and summer in succession. For a while at least.

So to finish up, I'll say that I think it is a little unnecessary to think that the consumer world is the way the world will be no matter what we do. Also, Facebook is a toy, not your only link to the world. Not that you shouldn't use it to keep in touch, but you can easily involve yourself in social activities, which just so happen turn out to be a healthier way live. Kudos to those of you who occasionally help at the theater.